Draft diverter



Sept. 9, 1958 J. s. WETZEL DRAFT DIVERTER Filed 'Aug. 18, 1953 United States Patent DRAFT DIVERTER James S. Wetzel, Front Royal, Va., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application August 18, 1953, Serial No. 374,891

4 Claims. (CI. 98-99) The present invention relates to an improved type draft diverter which may be affixed to ordinary window easements for double-hung windows. More specifically, the invention provides a draft diverter of transparent material which is adapted to be aflixed to the bottom portion of a window frame to extend across the sill thereof.

With many of our fall, winter, spring, and even summer days and evenings being of such temperature as to encourage ventilation in the home or ofiice, it is often desirable to raise the bottom window section to about 6 inches from the window sill to permit outside air to pass therethrough. However, in such practice a draft is usually created which is unhealthy, uncomfortable, and disturbing for persons within the rooms. Various draft diverters have been designed to divert such a draft away from the occupants of the room but they have proved unsatisfactory because of the cumbersomeness of the parts involved or because of the difiiculty involved in afiixing the diverter to the individual windows. One type of draft diverter on the market comprises two large metal pieces which are secured to the vertical supports of the window frame to support a large glass plate which extends across the sill of the window frame. Another type diverter comprises a spring-retracted curtain which is affixed to the sill of the window adjacent a vertical support of the window frame and which is drawn across the width of the sill and hooked to the opposite vertical support. It is apparent that many mechanical parts are required in the above type draft diverters which create an expense for the installer in addition to requiring considerable time for the installation thereof.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved and novel type draft diverter for double-hung windows which eliminates the disadvantages noted above with respect to the diverters used today.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a draft diverter which may be easily installed or removed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a draft diverter of transparent material which permits the usual amount of light to enter through the window and which does not block out the view.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a draft diverter for double-hung windows which is attached at its ends to supports which are in turn afiixed to the inner or opposing faces of the vertical sections of the window frame by thumbtacks, tape, glue, etc.

Additional objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view 'of the draft diverter of the present invention,

Figure 2 is a top view of the draft diverter of Figure 1 after it has been wound up upon its end supports,

Figure 3 is a perspective of a double-hung window and its supporting frame showing the draft diverter afiixed to the vertical portions of the window frame,

Patented Sept. 9, 1958 ice Figure 4 is a top view partially in section of an embodiment of the invention showing the draft diverter aflixed in a different manner to the window frame,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detailed view of an embodiment of the present invention which shows the diverter secured to the vertical sections of the window sections by the use of adhesive tape strips,

Figure 6 is a section taken along lines VIVI of Figure 4.

The draft diverter of the present invention comprises a single unit assembly length of cellophane, or other flexible sheet material, about 6 inches in width which is permanently secured at its ends to cardboard supports. For decorative purposes, the sheet material may be a colored material. The diverter is affixed to the inner or room side of the window frame by the end supports for the diverter which are secured to the vertical portions of the frame in such a manner that a longitudinal edge of the length of cellophane lies in contact with the sill of the frame. With the diverter thus affixed to the roomside of the frame, any draft passing through the frame will be deflected upwardly as it comes into contact with the diverter.

As seen in Figure 1, the draft diverter generally indicated by reference numeral 1 comprises a length or strip of transparent sheet material 2 such as cellophane which is secured to end supports 3, 3 which may be of relatively thin, flat cardboard or a similar material. The-transparent sheet material 2 is attached at its extremities to the end supports 3, 3 by staples 4 or other similar attaching means. When not aflixed to a window frame the diverter 1 is wound up upon the end supports by preferably winding inwardly from each end to form a compact assembly 5 as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows the draft diverter 1 affixed by its end supports 3, 3 to the outer faces of the vertical sections 6, 6 of a window frame generally indicated at 7 for double-hung windows 8, 8. The end supports 3, 3 are secured to the vertical sections 6, 6 by thumbtacks 12 or other suitable securing means. The bottom longitudinal edge of the diverter sheet material 2 lies in contact with sill 10 of the Window frame 7. When the bottom window section 8 is raised to the position shown in Figure 3, the air entering through the opening in the frame 7 strikes the transparent sheet material 2 to be deflected upwardly over the top longitudinal edge 11 of the diverter 1 which prevents the creation of a draft adjacent the room side sill 10 of the window frame 7.

Figures 4 and 6 show an embodiment of the invention wherein the draft diverter 1 is affixed to the inner or opposing faces of the vertical window frame members 6, 6 at an angle to the plane of the vertical members rather than being afiixed to the outer faces of the vertical members to permit easy access to the window handles 14, 14, and to provide a less turbulent path for the flow of air which permits more air to enter the room. As shown therein, the diverter end supports 3 are attached by thumbtacks 12 to the vertical sections 6, 6. To position the diverter 1 in this manner, the end supports 3, 3 are secured to the inner faces of the side vertical members 6, 6 with the supports lying to the room side of the diverter and at an angle to the plane of the side members so that the draft diverter 3 flow of air to be directed below the window frame on the room side of the window whereby the room occupant or occupants will receive a certain amount of cooling benefit from the lower stream of air while eliminating strong bothersome drafts upon the occupant or occupants.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 5 wherein pressure sensitive adhesive strips 13 such as cellophane tape are used to aflix the end supports 3 of draft diverter 1 to the vertical window frame sections 6, 6. By using the pressure sensitive adhesive strips 13 to secure the draft diverter 1 to the vertical sections 6, 6, there is no marring of the frame surface with holes such as occur when thumbtacks or other indenting attaching means are used.

I wish it to be understood that I intend to include within my invention such modifications and adaptations thereof as will be obvious to those skilled in the art and which lie within the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a window frame assembly comprising a pair of side vertical members, a bottom sill extending between the side vertical members, a lower window sash mounted between the side vertical members, a draft diverter comprising a strip of flexible material which extends between the side vertical members and lies adjacent the bottom sill, and a flat end support permanently affixed to each end of the flexible material strip for securing the strip in position across the sill, said end supports being afiixed to the inner or opposing faces of the vertical side members at an angle thereto such that the flexible material extends outwardly away from the lower window sash as the material extends upwardly from its lowermost point, said supports being so positioned with respect to the vertical side members and the sill that a slight clearance is provided between the sill and the lower edge of the flexible material.

2. In combination, a window frame assembly comprising a pair of side vertical members, a bottom sill extending between the side vertical members, a lower window sash mounted between the side vertical members, a draft diverter comprising a strip of flexible material which extends between the side vertical members and lies adjacent the bottom sill, and a flat end support permanently affixed to each end of the flexible material strip for securin' the strip in position across the sill, said end supports being aflixed to the inner or opposing faces of the vertical side members at an angle thereto with only the end points of the bottom surface of the end supports contacting the sill whereby the flexible material extends outwardly away from the lower window sash as it extends upwardly from the sill, said supports also lying to that side of the flexible material facing away from the lower window sash whereby a slight clearance is provided between the sill and the lower edge of the flexible material.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the strip of flexible material comprises a strip of transparent material.

4. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the strip of flexible material comprises cellophane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,520 Amos Oct. 24, 1893 1,185,193 Gold May 30, 1916 1,470,606 George Oct. 16, 1923 1,650,724 Rose Nov. 29, 1927 1,722,722 Walker July 30, 1929 2,082,209 Mason June 1, 1937 

